Monday, July 21, 2008

Beauty Review: Summer Fun With Nars

Shall I gush more about Nars? If you haven't noticed, this summer is all about colour. Colour on your eyes, colour on your lips, and colour on your nails - and not necessarily all at the same time. When I received Nars' Duo Eyeshadow in Bysance and Sheer Lipstick in Nouba I thought it couldn't be a more perfect palette for some summer fun!

Nars Duo Eyeshadow Bysance ($24 USD): I adore this duo of shimmering marigold and iridescent iris together. At first glance, these pretty brights might scare you away but when swiped over the eyes gives a sheer wash of colour. For summer, you want to wear colour but you don't want it to look heavy which is why Bysance is such a perfect choice. Each shade is buildable so if you want to go more intense at night you can. Both can be worn anytime of the day. For day, I like to swipe the marigold across the lid and on the inner bottom corner. Then, I use a damp liner brush with the iris shade and apply it as a liner. For night, play up your looks by swiping the iris shade all over the lid, into the crease, and the bottom lash line. Apply the gold in the inner corner to make the eyes pop. Smudge some black liner into the lash line and in the waterline for a bit of smolder. Finish eyes with lots of mascara.

Nars Sheer Lipstick Nouba ($24 USD): When you wear bright colours on the eyes, you want to keep your lips soft but not totally pale. Absolutely pale lips will wash you out and don't balance the overall look. Nouba, a ginger with shimmer, is lovely and neither too pale or too dark for this colour palette. The texture wasn't as sheer as I expected and applied more like a semi-matte. I don't usually go for lipsticks that have a shimmery or frosty finish but this one makes the lips sparkle without having to apply gloss. It's a warm neutral that can go with any look.

Happy shopping! Have you tried these products from Nars? Love it? Hate it?